ALISO VIEJO, Calif. — The GSAC announced its Players of the Week presented by Athletic Solutions on Monday, honoring seven student-athletes for their performances from Aug. 24-30.
This week’s selections include the second set of women’s volleyball awards and the first men’s and women’s soccer honors of the 2026 season. OUAZ and Embry-Riddle each collected two awards, while Soka and Life Pacific earned the conference’s first soccer defensive honors of the year.
Women’s Volleyball
Attacker of the Week: Elisa Saunders, OUAZ
Saunders helped OUAZ post a perfect 3-0 record at the OUAZ Women’s Volleyball Invitational, where the Spirit swept Westcliff, Cumberland and Northwest without dropping a set.
The junior opposite hitter from Goodyear, Arizona, totaled 32 kills and committed only seven errors on 63 attacks, producing a .397 hitting percentage. She averaged 3.56 kills and 3.8 points per set during the tournament.
Saunders opened the event with seven kills and no errors on 16 swings against Westcliff, finishing with a .438 hitting percentage. She followed with 12 kills and only one error while hitting .611 in a sweep of Cumberland. Her performance against Cumberland ranked as the seventh-most efficient single-match performance in program history among players with at least 10 kills.
Saunders completed the weekend with a tournament-high 13 kills against Northwest. She also contributed seven digs and four blocks across the three matches.
Setter of the Week: Alice Tuci, Embry-Riddle
Tuci led the Embry-Riddle offense with 109 assists over 12 sets as the Eagles finished the week with victories over Westcliff and Cumberland.
The senior setter from Belo Horizonte, Brazil, averaged 9.08 assists per set and committed only three setting errors during the three-match weekend. She also contributed 32 digs, seven blocks, five kills and three service aces.
Tuci began the week with 42 assists, 14 digs and three blocks in a five-set match against Northwest. She then recorded 31 assists and 10 digs as Embry-Riddle swept Westcliff. Tuci closed the weekend with 36 assists, eight digs, three kills and two service aces in a four-set victory over Cumberland.
She averaged at least nine assists per set in each of Embry-Riddle’s two victories, including a weekly-best 10.33 assists per set against Westcliff.
Defender of the Week: Gloria Moye, OUAZ
Moye was a consistent presence at the net throughout OUAZ’s undefeated weekend at its home invitational. The senior middle blocker from Surprise, Arizona, recorded five blocks in each of the Spirit’s three sweeps.
Moye finished the tournament with 15 total blocks, including four solo blocks and 11 block assists. She averaged 1.67 blocks per set while helping OUAZ hold each of its three opponents without a set victory.
She added seven kills and five blocks while hitting .583 against Westcliff. Moye produced another five-block performance against Cumberland before finishing the tournament with seven kills, five blocks and a .700 hitting percentage against Northwest.
In addition to her defensive production, Moye totaled 17 kills with only one error on 28 attacks. She hit .571 and averaged 2.9 points per set during the three-match tournament.
Men’s Soccer
Offensive Player of the Week: Christopher Cruz, Embry-Riddle
Cruz scored in both of Embry-Riddle’s matches during the Eagles’ trip to Oregon. The sophomore midfielder from Houston finished the week with two goals, four points, eight shots and five shots on goal.
Cruz accounted for Embry-Riddle’s goal in a 2-1 loss to Southern Oregon, converting a penalty kick while placing two of his four attempts on goal. He returned two days later to score again in the Eagles’ 2-2 draw against Oregon Tech.
Cruz recorded four shots in each match and placed three attempts on target against Oregon Tech. He finished the week with a .250 shooting percentage and placed 62.5% of his shots on goal.
Defensive Player of the Week: Jacob Warren, Soka
Warren delivered a nine-save performance to help Soka defeat Westcliff, 2-1, in the Lions’ lone match of the week.
The freshman goalkeeper played all 90 minutes and allowed only one goal while facing sustained pressure from the Westcliff attack. He finished the victory with a .900 save percentage.
Warren’s nine saves were the most recorded by a GSAC goalkeeper during the week and helped Soka preserve its one-goal advantage through the final whistle.
Women’s Soccer
Offensive Player of the Week: Jamie Brandon, Embry-Riddle
Brandon scored twice as Embry-Riddle opened its season with a 4-0 victory over Oregon Tech.
The senior forward from Phoenix registered eight shots, placed four on goal and finished with four points. Brandon scored the game-winning goal and added a second goal to help the Eagles secure a shutout victory in their season opener.
Brandon converted two of her eight attempts for a .250 shooting percentage and placed half of her shots on target. Her two-goal performance helped the Eagles, ranked No. 3 in the NAIA preseason poll, begin the 2026 season with a victory.
Defensive Player of the Week: Stevie Spencer, Life Pacific
Spencer played a key role in Life Pacific’s 3-0 victory over No. 23 Westcliff, contributing to the shutout defensively while also scoring a goal.
The senior center back from La Verne, California, helped the Warriors limit Westcliff to only five total shots. Spencer also scored on her lone attempt of the match, giving her two points in the victory.
Spencer started both of Life Pacific’s matches during the week, including Saturday’s contest against Southern Oregon. She finished the two-match stretch with one goal while providing a steady presence in the center of the Warriors’ defense.
2026 GSAC Players of the Week